Starting Point for Desert Power – Egypt’s First Solar Field in Operation.

 

Klaas Rühmann, Kuraymat Project Manager, Flagsol GmbH

The perfect Christmas present awaited me in the desert. In mid-December 2010 the entire solar field in Kuraymat was directed towards the sun for the first time. It was the first of its kind in Egypt, or more precisely, the first modern one, as the world’s very first parabolic trough was built in Egypt in 1912. The team and I were filled with pride and joy at the sight of the glittering sea of mirrors.

The 130,000-m² solar field designed by Flagsol is part of a 150-megawatt hybrid power plant that will use both solar energy and natural gas to generate electricity. There are only three plants of its kind in the world. We also delivered the solar field control unit and key components such as the parabolic mirrors and absorber pipes.

It was exactly this kind of pioneering work that I wanted to do when I joined Flagsol four years ago. I made a conscious decision: I would use my skills as an engineer in the development of renewable energies. The parabolic trough technology was not only new terrain for me; it offered the chance of a path less trodden in general. At that time Flagsol was still a small team. Today I have some 140 colleagues – and we continue to grow, internationally as well. In addition to the Cologne and Essen locations, Flagsol is also represented in Madrid, Oakland, Johannesburg and Abu Dhabi.

As soon as I started working with Flagsol, I was immediately assigned to the Kuraymat project, which was still in the tendering phase. Together with my colleagues, I conducted the final negotiations with our Egyptian partner Orascom, followed by a project term lasting more than three years. This truly has left an impression on me; every three weeks I worked on site for a week, and Egypt became part of my daily life. Cultural exchange was no longer just a catch phrase for me. After a short period of adjustment, the cooperation with the local teams and partners worked beautifully. Ways of thinking that seemed right at my desk at home had to be constantly adapted while I was in Egypt in order to make them work in reality.

Up to 500 skilled workers were employed at the construction site. Investments by foreign companies and the World Bank are an important engine for jobs in the region. For the launch of the solar field, we rounded up the local team and celebrated with a meal.

The final tests were concluded in Kuraymat in January. After the commissioning of the conventional power plant section with the turbine and generator, the entire plant is scheduled to commence operations officially in the first quarter of 2011. Kuraymat is a precursor to more desert electricity projects in the MENA region. Our partnership with Orascom also proved a stroke of luck, as we have found a reliable partner in North Africa with which we want to continue working as equals in this region: we’re now in the running for a power plant project in Morocco, for example. Desertec, we’re on our way!